Graduate School Personal Statement Applying to graduate or professional school can be tough. There are deadlines you have to meet, recommendation letters from your professor, entrance exams, application fees, interviews, and the dreaded personal statement. However, if you have a strong plan of attack you will be able to make it through just fine! Below are a few outlined tips about how to start writing your personal statement. Answer the questions that are asked
If you are applying to several schools, you may find questions in each application that are somewhat similar. Don't be tempted to use the same statement for all applications. It is important to answer each question being asked, and if slightly different answers are needed, you should write separate statements. In every case, be sure your answer fits the question being asked. Many schools also ask why you chose this specific program, make sure that you highlight an aspect about their university or program. Maybe there is a specific professor you want to be your mentor or a specific specialty they have at the university.
Tell a story
Think in terms of showing or demonstrating through concrete experience. One of the worst things you can do is to bore the admissions committee. If your statement is fresh, lively, and different, you'll be putting yourself ahead of the pack. If you distinguish yourself through your story, you will make yourself memorable. Admissions committee’s want to know who you are and why you would be an asset to their school. Tell a story that defines who you are or gives a story about why you want to go to graduate/professional school.
Be specific
Don't, for example, state that you would make an excellent doctor unless you can back it up with specific reasons. Your desire to become a lawyer, engineer, or whatever should be logical, the result of specific experience that is described in your statement. Your application should emerge as the logical conclusion to your story. Sometimes there can be multiple reasons as to why you want to apply for this program or school. Map all the instances out, maybe there is a logical way of putting them together that is better than a chronological order.
Find an angle
If you're like most people, your life story lacks drama, so figuring out a way to make it interesting becomes the big challenge. Finding an angle or a "hook" is vital. Don’t underestimate the experiences that you have had in the past. Many times the “hook” isn’t as hard as you might think that it is to find.
Concentrate on your opening paragraph
The lead or opening paragraph is generally the most important. It is here that you grab the reader's attention or lose it. This paragraph becomes the framework for the rest of the statement.
Tell what you know
The middle section of your essay might detail your interest and experience in your particular field, as well as some of your knowledge of the field. Too many people graduate with little or
Graduate School Personal Statement
no knowledge of the nuts and bolts of the profession or field they hope to enter. Be as specific as you can in relating what you know about the field and use the language professionals’ use in conveying this information. Refer to experiences (work, research, etc.), classes, conversations with people in the field, books you've read, seminars you've attended, or any other source of specific information about the career you want and why you're suited to it. Since you will have to select what you include in your statement, the choices you make are often an indication of your judgment. Again, the selection committees want to know who you are and how that relates to the opportunities that graduate/professional school will give you.
Don't include some subjects
There are certain things best left out of personal statements. For example, references to experiences or accomplishments in high school or earlier are generally not a good idea. Don't mention potentially controversial subjects (for example, controversial religious or political issues).
Do your research
If a school wants to know why you're applying to it rather than another school, do some research to find out what sets your choice apart from other universities or programs. If the school setting would provide an important geographical or cultural change for you, this might be a factor to mention. Look into the faculty who will be teaching at the university. Maybe one of them is a researcher in the area you are interested in researching. Another area to consider is looking at who the current students are. This can sometimes provide insider insight on what the student culture is like. These individuals will be your colleagues and you’ll need them for future information just as they will need you.
Write well and correctly
Be meticulous. Type and proofread your essay very carefully. Many admissions officers say that good written skills and command of correct use of language are important to them as they read these statements. Express yourself clearly and concisely. Adhere to stated word limits. Have others proofread, and not just once! Sometimes you’ll have to rewrite your personal 3 times others you’ll rewrite 10 times. That is okay. It doesn’t mean you have a bad essay, or you are a bad writer. It does however mean that you are detail oriented another trait admissions committees seek out.
Avoid clichés
A medical school applicant who writes that he is good at science and wants to help other people is not exactly expressing an original thought. Stay away from often-repeated or tired statements.